9 There’s nothing scarier than a devious pretty face

Nightmares.

It belonged to the Dreamwalker genus, along with Incubus and Succubus, which was why Demon Lord Natha said they were related. But whilst the latter two feasted on others' energy by stimulating their carnal desire, Nightmares attack their victim's mental energy by manipulating their fears. It was one of the curse-demon types like Banshee, but Nightmare's curse targeted one mind and soul instead.

That was why Nightmares are proficient in the matter of one's soul, just like how Vampires would be proficient with the map of people's blood vessels. Mind and soul were their prey, after all. Just like he said, Nightmare was also called Soul Tracker, for their ability to put a target mark on someone's soul, which also helped them put on a prolonged curse.

Funnily enough, it made them the archnemesis of the Lich—which I suspected to be one of the demon lords—since Nightmare could pinpoint their true soul no matter what and how many phylacteries a lich used.

That was all I knew from Valmeier's memory. I had no idea how much of it was accurate, since I had quite a doubt now.

Not about his ability, no, but...

"You're making a fun expression," Natha chuckled and gave me his casual, easy smile.

Yes, that. That smile and face and vibe, it was shattering all my thoughts about my perception on Demon Lord.

Where was the scary part? The cruel narrative? Why was he being so kind and gentle and informative? So far, he was miles better than the whole kingdom or Lenaar had treated Valmeier.

"I thought Nightmare would look scary..." I commented carefully, gauging his reaction.

This was why I had doubts. Was it made sense that a demon who targeted people's fear and drank on their mental energy looked this good and acted this gentle?

At my comment, however, the Demon Lord smiled deeply. So deep that it sent goosebumps down my skin.

Why? Why did he smile like that? Was he mad?

The silver eyes that had been gently narrowed into crescents were cold now, looking at me without expression. And yet he smiled, not the amused kind, certainly not joyous too. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look happy either. He just looked confusing.

I had no idea what he wanted to do now. Should it be the Wrath, Metta, the red giant would either scowl or laugh, since the demon was easy to read. But Natha was just confusing, like how he appeared so accommodating last night, but turned so stern when I showed objection. It was scary and eerie, and...

Oh.

Oh!

I lifted my gaze to look at him—I didn't even realize I had lowered it. Suddenly, I was reminded of a movie in my previous life, about agents that dealt with aliens. Which one was scarier; an openly scary-looking alien, or a little girl reading a calculus book?

Which one was scarier; a burly man with his fist readied in front of you, or a kind-looking colleague with a knife on your back? An antagonist who claimed they would destroy the world, or a comrade that secretly destroyed your team?

A red giant demon which territory you threatened, or the heroic-looking comrade that had no qualm about annihilating soldiers to save themselves?

Seeing the change of look in my eyes, he put on an easy expression again while asking me. "Do I look scarier now?"

The most fearsome of all mental attacks was a deceptive appearance.

A dream only turned into a nightmare when one had already been lured to sleep. But would someone willingly sleep when they knew they would encounter a nightmare? The answer would be no. That was why some people ended up with insomnia when they were constantly being assaulted by nightmares after traumatic events. They refused to sleep when they knew it would be scary. Just like how people would refuse to follow a scary-looking man but didn't mind tagging along with a weak-looking woman.

I gulped instinctively, even though there was nothing to swallow but my own saliva.

"Good," the crescent came back to his eyes. "You're in demon's territory, you shouldn't be complacent."

When I just blinked instead of responding, he continued. "You're a priest coming to look for a demon's aid. While you consider it absurd to be tied in a relationship with me, you seemed to fail in considering how vulnerable your identity is in this land."

Ugh...

"I don't know if you became dull after the war is over, or are you just usually this ignorant," his eyes sharpened for a second, before they turned calm as usual, "but you should be more cautious."

Well, it couldn't be helped. In my defense, I wasn't really a priest, nor had I joined the war effort. I was just a lifelong patient looking for a cure. As I never faced the demon's army—or any enemies, really—on my own, I wouldn't know the real repercussion of being someone's enemy. If I had looked at the eyes of the demon soldiers that I killed, perhaps I would be more prudent, warier of the consequences. If I was the one who end their lives with my hand, perhaps I'd be guiltier.

But I wasn't Valmeier. And I had distanced myself from his actions or identity.

I had no idea what it felt like to have someone as my enemy, to have someone wanting me to die. I had been dying even without others' effort. But if someone who had killed my own kind appeared in front of me asking for help in a vulnerable state...would I be able to suppress a desire to just get rid of that person?

Which made me wonder; if it was another demon lord, would they give me the Amrita?

"Then..." I looked at him again, the air of casual breakfast time had evaporated from the room. "Why are you helping me?"

No, that wasn't it. There was no guarantee that he really was helping me. What we had was a contract, an agreement.

An agreement that the terms and conditions had not been truly alluded to me.

"Why did you agree to this contract?" I asked again, rubbing the brand on the back of my palm.

"That's not quite true," the Demon Lord chuckled. "You're the one that agreed to the contract I proposed."

"Tomato, tomato," I rolled my eyes. "Why are you proposing that kind of contract then?"

The silver eyes crinkled with a teasing spark. "I don't think it would be fun if I told you..."

Haa...of course it wouldn't be.

"You're free to try and find out on your own," he added.

How? Rather than being surprised at his 'generosity', I felt it was more like a challenge. I haven't even managed to find out where we were, so how on earth could I begin to find out what he wanted to do with me?

I had a strong feeling that it was intentional, however. Something like a quest to give me a wake-up call. A way of making me realize that I had nothing to confront him with. A way to make me submit, perhaps.

Unconsciously, I mumbled out loud. "How can I even..."

"Just try and use your imagination," he waved his hand, the easy expression on his face was like telling me to just take it easy. There was a glint that made his silver orbs ripple as he gazed at me. "Think about me more while you're at it."

Was it bad...that my heart skipped a bit?

Damn stupid author! Why should she model his character from someone I had a crush on? It was bad enough that the demon lord had the doctor's face and voice, yet his demeanor was also...And to make that face and that voice and that disposition said that he was making me his bride...

I shook my head slightly, as if trying to get rid of a leftover sour flavor. No, I shouldn't get swayed by someone whose trait was playing with people's minds. Inhaling slowly to clear my head and calm my heartbeat, my eyes fell into the mark again.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat and pointed at the brand in my hand. "What does this mark signify?"

I could see the same mark on his palm too, and he seemed to be quite happy that I asked about it, as he glanced at the mark with a soft smile. "You're finally asking the right thing,"

But he didn't answer immediately, and instead started to eat first. And so I decided to resume my meal too since there was nothing I could do but wait. He started to talk after I finished another sample meal.

"As you said before, we have a contract. And a contract is not complete without a seal, no?"

"A seal...so how is this thing work?" I narrowed my eyes to scrutinize the mark again. Now that I saw it closely, each line within the mark consisted of runes, as if someone turned a two-page contract into this small mark. Were there terms and agreement clauses somewhere there?

"It's a mark signifying an unfulfilled contract. This means it won't be gone before we finish our agreement." he paused for a bit as he ate the rest of his meal, before continuing. "For me, it will be there until your mana circuit fully healed."

Which meant mine wouldn't go until I become his...bride—oh, god, it sounded so weird. But perhaps because he could 'sense' my thought, Natha felt my confusion and hesitation. If he was annoyed by that, he didn't show it.

Instead, he added, as if giving me some kind of salvation. "If it makes you feel better, I won't collect your side of the bargain until we finished with mine."

Oh? My brow raised, and my face lit up as I straightened my back.

"So we'll be dealing with repairing you first," he said, like I was some kind of a broken car. But I was too relieved to even care about that.

Perhaps I was also too relieved to not realize the gleaming and the disappointed twitch in the moon-like eyes as the Demon Lord sensed my mood.

"You're that happy?" the Demon Lord smiled. "You're glad you don't have to be my bride yet?"

Umm...

"Even though you were clinging so much to me last night?"

'Oh, I'm screwed...'